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Cahill strikes out eight Angels

A three-game sweep by the Giants at AT&T Park at the end of June knocked the Dodgers out of first place in the National League West. A three-game sweep of their own against their rivals to the north this weekend put the Dodgers right back into a first-place tie.

However, as the dog days of August approach, the NL West race won't be a two-team affair, as a third club looks to crash the party. The D-backs sit 4 1/2 games back from their NL West-leading foes, and they will get a chance to make a push when they travel to Dodger Stadium for a three-game series beginning Monday night.

A pair of series sweeps against the Mets and Giants on their recent 10-game road trip, along with a major trade that brought in Hanley Ramirez -- who will make his home debut in Dodger blue tonight -- have Los Angeles flying high. The team is coming off a shutout performance by Clayton Kershaw, who was backed by an offense that looks much more formidable with Ramirez joining Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier in the middle.

"This is a brand-new team," said Kemp, referring to the lineup finally being healthy. "We've got our old team back, and Hanley on top of it."

Arizona, the club many predicted to finish atop the NL West for the second-straight year, is coming off of a 5-1 loss to the Mets on Sunday, but the team has gone 7-3 in its last 10 games. With the way the D-backs have been playing, they are confident the postseason is still in reach despite being .500.

"I know we're contenders, there's no question about it," outfielder Chris Young said. "We've gone through some ups and downs, but when it comes down to it, we're still a good team. That doesn't tell anything for the future, though. We can get hot; we can get cold. Before you know it, we can be a game out, or 10 out. It's a matter of us coming together and playing quality baseball."

With Trevor Cahill on the mound, the D-backs will get an opportunity to prove they are contenders against Aaron Harang and the Dodgers, who also went 7-3 in their last 10 games.

D-backs: Arizona trades for Johnson
After watching the Dodgers and Giants make trades this past week, the D-backs added their own hot-hitting infielder to make a late-season push. Arizona sent a pair of Minor League outfielders to the Astros for Chris Johnson, who should be an upgrade at third base.

Johnson has hit .429 in his last nine games, and he has hit .279 with 21 doubles, eight homers and 41 RBIs this season with Houston.

Prior to making the trade, Arizona's third basemen had combined to hit .230 this season and the team has control of Johnson through 2017. He went 5-for-13 with two RBIs during a three-game series at Chase Field last week.

"He's had a pretty good season and he's still fairly young," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "We see a lot of potential in him."

Dodgers: Cruz riding 12-game hitting streak
Luis Cruz, who has been filling in for injured shortstop Dee Gordon, laced an RBI double down the left-field line Sunday to bring his hitting streak to 12 games, the longest on the team this year.

Called up originally to give Gordon a day of rest, Cruz has played nearly every day since Gordon dislocated his thumb. He has provided solid defense and he has been swinging the bat well. He went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run in the Dodgers' victory over San Francisco on Sunday.

"Right now, I look at him the way I looked at Elian Herrera when he was here," manager Don Mattingly said. "If he's part of the best club we have, he'll be out there. Right now, he's been great. He's the shortstop. I'm not downplaying him at all. I feel like I'm learning him as a hitter. I know who I can match him up with. He's been good, really, since Spring Training."

Worth noting
• Cahill is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings against the Dodgers.

• Young is batting .353 with three homers and five RBIs in 17 at-bats against Aaron Harang.

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